You’re engaged—congratulations! Before you get ahead of yourself with wedding planning, review the list below and make sure you do these nine things before anything else.
1. Spread the News
Parents likely knew this call was coming—now you can confirm the news. Call each other’s parents, siblings, close family, and core friends to share the good news. Once the close circle is contacted, feel free to share your announcement with everyone else on social media.
2. Take a Picture
Brides who love Instagram certainly won’t miss this step. It’s time to show off that new rock. Snap a photo of your perfectly manicured hand and gorgeous new ring. If a ring selfie isn’t your style, get a cute couple picture—with the ring acting as the main attraction—to post on your social accounts.
3. Plan Celebratory Drinks
Getting engaged is definitely worth toasting to. Grab your closest friends and family for an intimate celebration. You’ve just made a huge commitment, and the actual ceremony is at least months—if not a year—away. Go out and make your first public appearance as an engaged couple.
4. Insure Your Ring
You’ve just acquired an expensive piece of real estate. You want to protect it, and while you say nothing bad will happen, it never hurts to plan for the worst. Obtaining ring insurance isn’t romantic but it’s definitely necessary. Most homeowners’ or renters’ policies make it easy to add this treasured object. While you’re already busy insuring the ring, it never hurts to have it appraised at the same time.
5. Size Your Ring
Your partner will do the best job possible to make sure the ring fits, but it can be hard to estimate size beforehand without being overly obvious. Whether there’s a little too much wiggle room or it feels just a little too snug, resize the ring as soon as possible so you can get back to showing it off.
Sizing takes a few hours at the most, with the maximum time period lasting a day or two. You’ll have a perfectly fitted ring back in no time.
6. Set a Rough Date
The first question you can expect after sharing your engagement is: “When’s the wedding?” Tackle this dreaded question head-on with a vague answer, providing an approximate date that relates to the upcoming year or particular season. People are asking so they can mentally book time off, plus it gives you two some planning direction.
7. Get Inspired
It’s time to let your wedding imagination run wild. Look everywhere for inspiration: Pinterest, magazines, websites, and wedding bloggers. Gather ideas for your wedding from a variety of sources, even seeing how you can incorporate those overtly expensive aspects in thrifty ways.
Your wedding vision can come from anywhere, so start piling together your dream elements.
8. Register—Soon
Your guests will immediately want to know what gifts the new couple needs. While you might feel overwhelmed by the rush, you’ll thank yourself if you have the registry set up earlier. It gives everyone enough time to shop before the festivities approach—which happens sooner than you think, and guests will be thankful they can get started planning the perfect wedding gift.
9. Breathe!
It can be very easy to get caught up in the wedding whirlwind, but this period, just after the engagement announcement, is really the only relaxing time you have. The wedding stress is coming, so there’s no need for it to arrive early. Savour the moment and let the fact that you’re getting married really sink in.
